HPDBC Chapter 1799 Infiltrating the Industry (6k)
Chapter 1799 Infiltrating the Industry (6k)
Chapter 1799 Infiltrating the Industry (6k)
The matter was of great importance, and Zhao Youcai didn't even have time to drink his wine before rushing into the house to make a phone call to Lingnan.
Meanwhile, at the Shao family's house in Qiaotou Village, Lingnan, Zhao Jun, who doesn't drink alcohol, had already finished eating.
But he didn't leave the table; he chatted with both groups about running in the mountains.
After chatting about hunting, the group started talking about grazing in the mountains.
Just then, an elderly man surnamed Zhang, who was in charge of the village office, hurriedly arrived at the Shao family's house.
As soon as he entered the house, he said to Lin Yueying, who was tidying up in the outer room, "Zhiqiang's wife, have you had guests?"
"Ah, Uncle Zhang," Lin Yueying responded, then said politely, "Have you eaten yet? If not, come inside!"
As she spoke, Lin Yueying walked to the door of the east room, peeked out and called to Shao Tianpeng, "Dad, Uncle Zhang is here."
"Ouch." Upon hearing this, Shao Tianpeng was about to get up when Old Zhang quickly stopped at the door and asked Shao Tianpeng inside, "Brother, do you have a guest named Zhao Jun?"
“Yes.” Shao Tianpeng looked at Zhao Jun, and Zhao Jun stood up and said to Old Zhang, “Grandpa, I am Zhao Jun.”
"A call came from Lingxitou looking for you." Old Zhang said, "I just answered. He said it was your dad."
Hearing this, Zhao Jun's heart skipped a beat. Zhao Jun knew that his family wouldn't call Lingnan unless it was something urgent.
At this moment, Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, and others also put down their chopsticks and cups, and Li Ruhai even stood up and said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, I'll go with you."
Zhao Jun raised his hand and pressed down twice, then walked out while laughing, "Why go to those people when you're just taking a call? You can stay inside, it's fine."
Despite Zhao Jun's words, Shao Zhiqiang still called out to Shao Jun, "Son, go with your brother Zhao."
Old Zhang accompanied Zhao Jun on his way there, but Zhao Jun returned alone, so Shao Zhiqiang specially sent his son to accompany him.
Shao Jun readily agreed, and Shao Tianpeng and Shao Zhiqiang got up with him.
The father and son got up to greet Old Zhang, and then Shao Tianpeng said to Old Zhang, "Brother, let's have a drink here, there are no outsiders here."
"No, brother," Old Zhang declined, saying, "I finished eating half a day ago, and I'm about to lie down under the covers."
There wasn't much entertainment these days, and the old man was working alone at the village office as a night watchman. He would go to sleep when it got dark, since there wasn't much to do.
"Alright, which day then?" Shao Tianpeng said politely, and together with him, they saw Old Zhang, Zhao Jun, and Shao Jun out of the courtyard.
The village wasn't very big, and it only took Zhao Jun ten minutes to get there and back, including answering the phone.
Back at the Shao family home, Zhao Jun sat down again and said to Shao Tianpeng with a serious expression, "Master Shao, we're in trouble this time."
Zhao Jun's words immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"What's wrong, Zhao Jun?" Shao Tianpeng asked hurriedly, "What happened at home?"
Shao Tianpeng thought something had happened to Zhao Jun's family, so he called Zhao Jun urgently to come home.
Shao Tianpeng also pointed to Zhao Jun driving away the tiger so that he could make a lot of money by lifting the stone dragon, so he hoped that Zhao Jun would finish his business in Lingnan before going home.
But when Zhao Jun spoke again, he looked at Shao Zhiqiang and asked, "Uncle Shao, can't you be tough?"
Zhao Jun's question startled Shao Zhiqiang, who then laughed and said, "What a question this kid asked. Your uncle is only forty, how could he not be strong?"
At this moment, Shao Tianpeng sensed something was wrong and asked Zhao Jun, "Zhao Jun, what's going on?"
“Master Shao.” Zhao Jun directly explained the reason for Zhao Youcai’s call, saying, “My dad just called and said that the Pang family is helping Pang the Blind Man organize people to carry dry rations into the mountains early tomorrow morning.”
At this point, Zhao Jun paused slightly, then tapped the table with his finger and said, "They made it very clear that they want to lift the stone dragon!"
"Shi Long..." Upon hearing this, everyone instantly realized the seriousness of the situation. If Blind Pang dared to let his followers bring dry rations into the mountains during this season, then the matter was almost certainly settled.
The Zhao and Shao families knew the location of the stone dragon, but a vicious tiger was causing trouble nearby. The two families had to deal with the Siberian tiger first before they could bring out the stone dragon.
The Shao family knew how troublesome that vicious tiger was, and Zhao Jun couldn't guarantee he could deal with it smoothly. If it ended up behind the Pang family, the 100,000 yuan would just fly into their pockets.
"Zhao Jun, what do you mean?" This was Shao Zhiqiang's question. Zhao Jun couldn't be blunt with him at this time, so he probably had an ulterior motive.
“This is what I’m thinking,” Zhao Jun said. “We can’t afford to delay any longer, so we have to race against time with the Pang family.”
"Uncle Shao, if you're capable, you can come with us into the mountains tomorrow. Once we get there, you can carry the load, and we'll keep watch over you."
At this point, Zhao Jun paused, glanced at Shao Zhiqiang, and then continued, "Uncle, I, as a junior, didn't mean anything by it."
Wild animals, especially bears and tigers, are no ordinary creatures. It has nothing to do with being brave or timid; the key is that when those things bark, it sends shivers down your spine.
"If you... well, you know, then look at the people going into the mountains tomorrow, who even knows that place? And if he can't carry it, I'll do."
With time running out, Zhao Jun got straight to the point and explained the reasons behind it.
After hearing Zhao Jun's words, Shao Zhiqiang immediately said, "Zhao Jun, I understand what you're saying. I'll go with you tomorrow."
As soon as Shao Zhiqiang said this, Lin Youli, who was standing next to him, blurted out, "Zhiqiang, why don't I go?"
A brother-in-law who dotes on his brother-in-law is the same as a brother who dotes on his sister.
"I'll go!" Wang Tianshui, the widow's godson, volunteered as well. He wasn't a talkative man and hadn't said much today. But it was clear that he had a good relationship with Shao Zhiqiang; they were sworn brothers.
"Brother, Tianshui, you shouldn't go." Shao Zhiqiang said, "I'll go, I'm fine!"
Lifting the ginseng is a delicate task, and the stone dragon is so precious that cutting off its whiskers means losing its wealth. Among the Shao family gang, the only ones confident in lifting the stone dragon out with its whiskers and tail intact are the leader Shao Zhiqiang and the second-in-command Xu Shanchuan.
However, Xu Shanchuan had mentioned during their previous drinking session that he trembled at the mere mention of "Old Yin Gou," so he didn't try to be brave now.
If he didn't go, Shao Zhiqiang, as the foreman, couldn't back down. As for entrusting Shi Long to him to carry, as Zhao Jun suggested, Shao Zhiqiang was even more uneasy.
He wasn't worried that Zhao Jun would run away with the stone dragon, since the Shao family gang would be going tomorrow. What Shao Zhiqiang was worried about was that Zhao Jun was young and might not be able to handle the stone dragon's whiskers that entangled and nestled around the stone.
"Zhiqiang." Just then, Shao Tianpeng spoke slowly, saying naturally to Shao Zhiqiang, "None of you should go. I'll go tomorrow."
"Dad!" Shao Zhiqiang said hurriedly upon hearing this, "Where are you going? You haven't been up the mountain for years."
Shao Tianpeng is 61 years old this year. At his age, he is no longer good for hunting, but in the mountains, he is quite popular.
Especially for ginseng leaders, the older they are, the more experienced they become.
But after passing on all his skills to Shao Zhiqiang, Shao Tianpeng retired.
It wasn't that the old man was lazy, but with him around, Shao Zhiqiang would always ask him for advice whenever something happened. Shao Tianpeng felt that if that was the case, Shao Zhiqiang would never be able to shoulder the responsibility of the Shao family gang.
So, Shao Tianpeng handed over the Shao family business to Shao Zhiqiang, and retired to stay home with his father. He spent his days playing cards and taking walks with his father, watching his eldest grandson Shao Jun grow up. Shao Tianpeng felt that life was wonderful.
But now that something has happened and it's time to take risks, Shao Tianpeng is reluctant to let his son go.
In Shao Tianpeng's mind, he himself could die, but his son and grandson could not be harmed.
As for what Zhao Jun said, that the Shao family would help guide the way and then he would carry the stone dragon, Shao Tianpeng didn't even consider it.
Fang Shanren was also a wanderer of the martial arts world, but Zhao Jun's claim of being a wanderer was an act; his suggestion was actually for the good of the Shao family.
In Shao Tianpeng's view, the two gangs were jointly carrying the stone dragon on Shao's territory, and the Shao gang's leader, who was over forty years old, hid while the Zhao gang's leader, who was in his early twenties, was put in danger. If this got out, the Shao family would be finished.
As for whether Shao Tianpeng's standing up for his son would make people laugh at Shao Zhiqiang, Shao Tianpeng believes that anyone can understand the love between parents.
The father was kind and the son was filial; Shao Tianpeng's intentions were clear to Shao Zhiqiang. However, Shao Zhiqiang disagreed and insisted on going himself.
Just then, Shao Yunjin spoke up, calling out to Shao Zhiqiang, "Zhiqiang."
"Grandpa." Shao Zhiqiang looked at Shao Yunjin, and then heard the old man say, "You don't need to go, let your father go instead."
"Grandpa, I..." Shao Zhiqiang still refused, but Shao Yunjin interrupted him, saying, "Kid, don't say anything. At this time, it's the elders who should go up the mountain."
"Sir, there's no such thing as 'should'." Shao Zhiqiang wanted to argue with Shao Tianpeng, but was glared at fiercely by Shao Yunjin.
Old Hu's eyes were sharp. He was so old that he no longer managed the household, but in this family, as long as he spoke, everyone from Shao Tianpeng to Shao Jun would listen to him.
Seeing that Shao Zhiqiang remained silent, Shao Yunjin looked at Shao Tianpeng and said, "Dapeng, then you can go tomorrow."
"Sigh." Shao Tianpeng responded, then heard Shao Yunjin sigh and say, "It's just that I can't walk the mountain path, otherwise I would have gone."
"Hehe..." Shao Tianpeng chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Dad, it's alright. I've seen all kinds of situations, I'm not afraid."
After saying this to his father, Shao Tianpeng turned to Zhao Jun and said with a smile, "Zhao Jun, please excuse my poor performance."
"Of course not, Master Shao." Zhao Jun smiled faintly. For various reasons, the average lifespan of Shao Yunjin and Shao Tianpeng's generation was not long. It's rare to see someone like Shao Zhiqiang, who is already forty and still has a father who loves him and a grandfather who cares for him. Others can only envy him; no one would laugh at him.
"I'll go with you tomorrow," Shao Tianpeng said to Zhao Jun with great pride. "I'm tough; I've been through thick and thin in my youth!"
Shao Tianpeng's words were somewhat exaggerated, but Zhao Jun had no doubt that he dared to face a Siberian tiger. A mountain foreman of Shao Tianpeng's age had probably seen more Siberian tigers in the mountains than Zhao Jun had.
There was a big battle tomorrow, so no one drank too much, and the party ended at 6:30. Xu Shanhe, Lin Youli, and the other men's wives helped Lin Yueying clean up, and then they all went home.
Then, Lin Yueying went to the east room to arrange bedding for Zhao Jun and the others.
The Shao family has been the head of ginseng for three generations, and many people have stayed at their house over the years, so there is no shortage of bedding.
Of the three houses in the Shao family's house, only the east room was large enough to fit ten people on the kang (heated brick bed). Zhao Jun and his group of seven, with Zhao Jinhui doing the work of three, had to sleep in this room.
Originally, this room was where the two elders of the Shao family slept, but this time the two old men vacated the room and they all went to sleep in the north room with Shao Jun.
Seeing that Lin Yueying had prepared bedding for all seven people, Shao Tianpeng smiled at Zhao Jun and said, "Zhao Jun, you can rest now."
"Master Shao," Zhao Jun suddenly called out to Shao Tianpeng, "Have you started the mountain clearing yet?"
"Oh dear." Shao Tianpeng was taken aback and said, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten."
"Is that right, Master Shao?" Zhao Jun said, "There's no time to slaughter a pig, so just put up a red cloth, and then do something else. If that's not enough, just put up a few apples and stack some pastries."
It wasn't that Zhao Jun was superstitious, but rather that there might be a fierce battle tomorrow, and he needed to use some rituals to boost his troops' morale.
“Then you don’t need to worry about it.” Shao Tianpeng thought Zhao Jun’s words made sense, and immediately said, “I’ll tell your Uncle Shao to buy a sheep tomorrow morning, take off the sheep’s head and hooves to offer as a sacrifice, and then we can eat the mutton.”
“Yes, Mr. Shao,” Zhao Jun echoed with a smile, “Let’s have a victory celebration banquet.”
Zhao Jun's words sounded auspicious, and Shao Tianpeng smiled upon hearing them, saying, "Okay, I'll have your aunt and the others choose a few more dishes!"
After Shao Tianpeng finished speaking, he left. Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, and the others saw him off at the door. Zhao Jun closed the door, turned around and glanced at Wang Qiang and the other six, then said, "Uncle, Baoyu, you two will come with me tomorrow."
"Brother!" Zhang Yuanmin said urgently as soon as Zhao Jun finished speaking, "Big brother has to go with you!"
Zhao Jun looked at Zhang Yuanmin and thought that apart from being small, Zhang Yuanmin was indeed quite reliable in other aspects, so he said, "Okay, brother, you go too."
"Yes!" Zhang Yuanmin nodded emphatically and said, "Brother, if there's a tough battle, I have to go with you!"
"Brother Jun!" Jie Chen stepped forward, pushing aside Zhang Yuanmin who was blocking his way, and said to Zhao Jun, "I have to go too, I'm a tough guy too!"
Zhao Jun glanced at Xie Chen, but he couldn't make up his mind.
"Xiao Chen," Wang Qiang said to Xie Chen, seeing his eldest nephew looking troubled, "why don't you stay home? The four of us can go!"
“That won’t do, Uncle,” Xie Chen said. “How can I stay home when there’s danger?”
Perhaps in his haste, Jie Chen gestured indiscriminately at Zhao Jinhui and Li Ruhai before turning to Zhao Jun and saying, "Brother Jun, I'm different from them! I'll go, I can help you!"
Hearing Xie Chen's words, before Zhao Jun could say anything, Zhao Jinhui's chubby face puffed up even more in anger. He knew he was too fat to handle this tough battle, but he couldn't stand being told that.
Seeing that Jie Chen had his back to him, Zhao Jinhui turned to Li Ruhai and said, "Ruhai, look at the nonsense he spouted!"
Li Ruhai, who was always proud, only smiled slightly at this moment, but said nothing.
Li Ruhai was self-aware enough. Back in the village, he couldn't even beat Ma Yang and Zhang Laifa. If he encountered a Siberian tiger, he wouldn't let it carry him away, and he would easily be scared into wetting his pants.
Li Ruhai was determined to either lose his life or suffer humiliation; he wasn't about to do such a thing.
“Alright, Xiao Chen.” Zhao Jun thought of how decisive and brave Zhang Yuanmin and Xie Chen had been when they saved him from the clutches of the Black Bear Monster in the Luan Shi Cellar. In the end, Zhao Jun decided to bring Xie Chen along.
Upon hearing Zhao Jun agree to take him, Jie Chen was overjoyed and said, "Brother Jun, you can lead me..."
Before Xie Chen could finish speaking, Zhao Jinhui jolted him off balance.
"Brother Jun!" Zhao Jinhui said to Zhao Jun, his face flushed, "I'm going too!"
"Brother, just give me a break." Zhao Jun said gently, "It's not that I don't want to help you, I'm just afraid I won't be able to take care of you. Big Claw is not like any other, this Big Claw is particularly strange."
"Yeah, Jin Hui." Wang Qiang followed Zhao Jun and advised Zhao Jin Hui, "You haven't been running in the mountains for very long. You should train some more before the next battle like this."
Zhao Jinhui didn't really want to go; he just wanted to save face. Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang's words paved the way for Zhao Jinhui, who, with a skewer on his chubby face, nodded and said, "Okay, Brother Jun, Uncle, then I won't go."
As soon as Zhao Jinhui finished speaking, Li Ruhai, who hadn't said a word since closing the door, suddenly stepped forward and said to Zhao Jun, "Brother, you can take my brother Hui there."
"Huh?" Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this. All six of them looked at Li Ruhai, who then laughed and said, "You take him there, Big Claw will definitely take a liking to him. If he snatches him away, Big Claw will be full after eating him, and you guys will be fine carrying the stone dragon over there, hahaha..."
Li Ruhai's words amused Zhao Jun and the others. Zhao Jun pointed at Li Ruhai, but couldn't speak from laughing. Zhao Jinhui grabbed Li Ruhai with his thick arms, forcing Li Ruhai to beg for mercy.
After the laughter subsided, Jie Chen said to Zhao Jun, "Brother Jun, Ru Hai's move is really effective. Why don't we do it?"
"Get the hell out of here!" Zhao Jinhui shoved Xie Chen, which made everyone laugh again.
When the guys get together, it's never lively without talking and laughing. Especially Jie Chen and Zhao Jinhui, who are about the same age, they're always fooling around together, and they're all used to it.
The laughter subsided again, and the group returned to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat down. Zhao Jinhui rubbed his stomach with his hand and said, "I've really lost weight. Otherwise, it'll be too much trouble for me to go up the mountain. Brother Jun probably won't take me with him anymore when we go herding in the mountains."
Zhao Jinhui was an only child and didn't lack money. But he liked to go up the mountain with Zhao Jun, especially hunting and herding, which were things he hadn't experienced in the past twenty years.
Zhao Weipeng was also willing to let his son follow Zhao Jun because Zhao Jun was honest and kind and wouldn't cheat his fat son.
Another thing is that following Zhao Jun will allow him to see a different side of the world and give Zhao Jinhui some experience.
“You really need to lose some weight.” Hearing Zhao Jinhui say that, Wang Qiang chimed in, then joked, “With your big build, just like Ru Hai and the other guy said, even if a big paw grabbed you, it would be stretched so much it would squirm and squirm.”
Everyone laughed upon hearing this, but considering that the Shao family members should be lying down by now, they all took off their clothes and lay down on the kang (heated brick bed) at Zhao Jun's suggestion.
But it was still early, so everyone chatted quietly about what had happened that day. Zhang Yuanmin lowered his voice and called to Zhao Jun, "Brother, you suddenly called me the Second-in-Command of our Ginseng Gang today, which caught Big Brother off guard."
“Hehe…” Zhao Jun chuckled and said, “These past few months, the grass and trees on the mountain have been tall and lush, so we haven’t been able to hunt. We’ve just been taking a stroll and hunting in the mountains whenever we have free time. Starting with Qinglangtou, we’ll practice with the sticks. I’ll hit the first stick, and you hit the other side, brother.”
“Agreed!” Zhang Yuanmin replied with great confidence, “Brother, you’ll handle this…”
"Hey?"
"Hey?"
"Hey!"
Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, and Li Baoyu all spoke up, interrupting Zhang Yuanmin before he could finish speaking.
"I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore." Zhang Yuanmin was somewhat unwilling. At this moment, Li Baoyu asked Wang Qiang, "Uncle, when my brother introduced you today, why didn't you say hello to him?"
Li Baoyu found this very interesting, so he thanked the Shao family for their hard work and entered the world of martial arts himself.
"Why would I say hello to him?" Wang Qiang said in a low voice. "It's because my father is gone. If my father were still alive, they would probably all kowtow to me."
Hearing Wang Qiang's words, everyone chuckled in hushed tones. Many people had overheard Wang Changhai talking to Wang Meilan that day; it turned out that Wang Dabazhang was the former leader of the Eighteen Hills.
Back then, Widow Wang and Bald Shao were both driven by Big Slap Wang. If Big Slap Wang were still alive, Second Young Master Wang's status in the underworld would definitely not be underestimated.
“Of course,” Li Ruhai replied, “Actually, the old man of the Shao family should call my uncle ‘Second Young Master’ and my elder brother ‘Grandson Young Master’.”
"What grandson?" Zhao Jun smiled, then heard Xie Chen call out to him, "Brother Jun, I've been following you for almost a year now, haven't I?"
"Ah, hasn't it been a year already?" Zhao Jun recalled that he met Xie Zhong and Xie Chen when he was working at Lengchang Transportation Station last spring. The year had flown by, making Zhao Jun sigh that time really flies.
"Brother Jun," Jie Chen said again, "I've followed you this past year; even if I haven't achieved anything great, I've certainly put in a lot of hard work, haven't I?"
Zhao Jun was taken aback, then laughed and asked, "Brother, what's wrong? Are you going to settle scores with me?"
Zhao Jun knew he couldn't, but he wanted to know what Xie Chen was trying to say by being so serious.
“No, Brother Jun,” Jie Chen said with a hint of grievance, “I’ve been following you since last year, and the other day my uncle was still hanging out with my Uncle Zhao.”
“Who’s associated with him…” Wang Qiang subconsciously interrupted Jie Chen, but then he thought that even though his brother-in-law wasn’t there, it wouldn’t be good to embarrass him like that.
Wang Qiang didn't say anything more, so Jie Chen continued, "Ru Hai and Jin Hui, they joined us later..."
“Brother Chen,” Li Ruhai interjected, interrupting Xie Chen, “I have to stop you here. When I met my elder brother, you were still a nobody.”
"Then you haven't joined our Zhao family gang?" Having been in the Zhao family for so long, Xie Chen was quite eloquent and immediately countered Li Ruhai, saying, "Back then, you were still working as a spies."
When Xie Chen mentioned Li Ruhai's past "career," everyone chuckled, and Li Ruhai blushed, a rare occurrence for him.
"Xiao Chen, what exactly do you want to say?" Zhang Yuanmin asked on behalf of Zhao Jun. Xie Chen said to Zhao Jun in a serious tone, "Brother Jun, I've been with you for so long, shouldn't you give me an official position?"
"What?" Zhao Jun was taken aback, then heard Jie Chen say, "Look, Brother Zhang is the second-in-command, Brother Li is the bodyguard, and Ru Hai is the manager, so what about me?"
“No…” Li Ruhai frowned and said, “What do you mean by ‘just like all of Ruhai’? Brother Chen, are you looking down on me?”
As he spoke, Li Ruhai rolled his eyes at Xie Chen and said, "I'm not trying to be mean, but your Xie family has never had a single steward in eight generations."
Everyone chuckled upon hearing this, but only Xie Chen said, "That's right, it's because none of our ancestors for eight generations have ever been a manager, that's why I want to be one."
"You stole my job, Brother Chen." Li Ruhai immediately protested and sat up from the covers.
"Alright, Ruhai." Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly stopped Li Ruhai, and then said to Xie Chen, "Xiao Chen, don't be in such a hurry. Our family has never had a manager before, right? I'll appoint you as the manager of the caravan!"
"Hehehe..." Everyone chuckled, and amidst the laughter, Zhao Jun said to Li Ruhai, "Ruhai, your big brother has a task for you."
"Brother, please speak." Li Ruhai stood up instantly and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Jun.
"Lie down quickly," Zhao Jun said. "Tomorrow, when you're home, talk to Lin Youli a lot. Try to get some information out of him and ask him about things that happened on the mountain road."
"Like their ginseng sales channels, what are some decent ginseng groups nearby, and what's the deal with that Ginseng King Conference? Ask around, and then we'll have a better understanding."
(End of this chapter)